


superhero

by loveletterd



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Comfort/Angst, Domestic Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mark Lee (NCT)-centric, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Soft Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas, Sweet Mark Lee (NCT), Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas-centric, mark just loves yukhei
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-17
Updated: 2019-07-17
Packaged: 2020-06-29 23:49:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19841095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loveletterd/pseuds/loveletterd
Summary: mark makes yukhei feel safe.





	superhero

Yukhei has never been the best at sleeping. He's filled with too much energy, too many thoughts, too big of a desire to always be doing something. He's like a firecracker lit at both ends, and sleep just takes away from hours he could be spending sparked up and ready to go.

That, and the fact that Yukhei gets nightmares.

They've been an occasional reoccurrence throughout his life, returning just when he thinks he's gotten rid of them. The memory of what they're about never stays with him for long but the fear and inability to fall back asleep always lingers.

Yukhei's home was always comforting and warm, his bed large and his blankets heavy, his body constantly surrounded by stuffed animals. If he couldn't find safety in them, he would go to his mother, and she would make him tea and talk to him until he was tired—no matter the time. It helped him to forget about the fact that the room was too dark, or every shadow looked like it was moving and morphing. 

Yukhei hates shadows, and Yukhei hates the dark.

Most of all, Yukhei hates nightmares, and he's just had one.

He jolts himself awake with a strangled cry, cold sweat coating his skin and making his clothes stick to him uncomfortably. He feels like he's suffocating, shaky hands pulling at the loose t-shirt he wears to alleviate a false pressure on his chest while he tries to calm his erratic breathing.

It's cold in the room he sleeps in, blankets kicked off of the bed and the window opened just slightly. It's not his bedroom at home and that only makes his fear escalate. He can't make sense of where he is, a desperate whine leaving his lips as his eyes dart around the room that's slowly becoming more familiar.

His apartment. He's in his new apartment, alone in a bed that he usually shares with someone warm and comforting much like his home felt.

"Mark." The name leaves his mouth as a gasp, teary eyes looking down at the empty mattress where the boy should be.

Yukhei’s chest is rising far too quickly to be healthy as he grabs the duvet and scrambles to get out of bed, only for his leg to get inconveniently caught in the sheets. His knees hit the carpet and he lets out a frustrated sob, pulling the duvet around himself protectively as quick footsteps sound down the hall. Yukhei wipes his eyes pathetically and sniffles, cocooning himself in the big white cover as his body fills with unshakeable anxiety. 

He feels entirely on edge, and as if at any second his entire body is going to shut down and give in to his overactive brain. He involuntarily flinches when a small body swings around the doorframe, out of breath and his eyes blown wide.

"I heard a bang, are you okay?" Mark gasps out, his hair a mess and his hoodie slipping down his shoulder. He looks down at Yukhei and frowns, taking a moment to breathe. "What are you doing on the floor?"

Yukhei says nothing, fearing that if he opens his mouth he'll choke and hiccup and embarrass himself even more than he already has. He just stares up at Mark with quivering lips and watery eyes, feeling his breathing speeding up even more. Everything feels wrong, and he can't even ask for help.

"Oh shit, you're crying." Mark's shoulders drop and he's quick in meeting Yukhei on the floor, hands wandering across his visible skin as if searching for something. "Did you fall? Did you hurt yourself?"

As his hands press against Yukhei's cheeks the boy shakes his head, the flesh against his feeling like it's burning and blistering his flushed face. He whines and pushes out of Mark's reach, back hitting the edge of the bed. As he blinks at the clearly startled boy, his vision seems to spot and blur, and he can't seem to stop the way fear rushes through his veins. 

Everything feels wrong, and Yukhei can't do anything but crumble. 

He heaves in a breath and lets his chin hit his chest, fists curling tighter around the duvet and yanking it closer to him as if willing to rip it open. Mark sits there on his knees and watches as if the boy is a spectacle, his mouth agape and his shoulder slumped. 

Everything is wrong and Mark doesn't think he can help.

Yukhei feels as if waves are crashing over him relentlessly and he can't seem to get his head above water to breathe. His hearing begins to fade in and out like the water is hitting him from every angle and his lungs start to burn as if every breath he takes results in him inhaling it. He sputters weakly and clenches his eyes shut, letting the tears pooling within them finally spill.

His hand drops the duvet to reach up and pull at his shirt collar again, fingernails dragging across his throat in a panic. The feeling of suffocation only seems to grow, and he can't figure out how to alleviate it. Before he can try and grab at his neck a delicate set of fingers wrap around his wrist, pulling his hand down and holding it instead.

"Hey, you're okay." Mark's voice sounds like an echo to the boy, who only shakes his head and curls his knees inward. "Yukhei, look at me."

His hand receives a squeeze and he forces his eyes to open, meeting a very close and concerned Mark, whose own eyes are always sparkling like there are little galaxies inside them.

Yukhei opens his mouth but the boy in front of him shakes his head and shushes him, thumb rubbing over his skin gently. "Just breathe Yuk."

Yukhei tries. God, does he try. Everything seems to burn him in the state he's in, from Mark's hot touch to the wetness in his eyes, to the air entering and leaving his lungs far too quickly. He can't find comfort in anything, and the thought terrifies him. 

"Mark-"

"It's okay baby, just follow me." Mark soothes, pulling the hand he holds up to his chest and allowing Yukhei to feel the steady thump of his heart. The rhythm reminds him he should be breathing in time with it, and Mark's chest is just as warm as the rest of him. 

Yukhei breathes, and the first thing that brings him a little closer to the surface is the smell of shampoo that drifts from Mark. As he breathes, he tries to decipher what the scent is. He can't tell if it's flowers, or vanilla, or fruit, and before he knows it, his hearing clears a little more.

"You're doing so well, I promise." Mark urges, and Yukhei decides that Mark smells like citrus and soap and it doesn't burn his noses when he drags in air. It makes his chest fill up with a newfound lightness that spreads through him and makes everything feel just a little easier. 

"Orange," He rasps out, fingers curling around Mark's tank top. "You smell like orange."

Mark breathes out a laugh that's filled with relief, his eyes shutting for a moment as if he's the one that needs to compose himself. Yukhei doesn't move his hand from his heart, feeling the way it beats a little slower than it was before. Yukhei's breaths still falter a little, and his heart still races, but he feels like he's finally gotten his head into the air and he isn't going to drown anymore. Not with such a cautious yet strong figure keeping him afloat.

He leans his head back, finally trying to explain himself with a weakened voice. "I-I just...I had a bad dream and—and I was here and alone and you weren't in bed and I freaked out."

Mark pouts at him, thumb gently wiping the drool that trails from the corner of his opened mouth as he drags even breaths in and out. His voice comes out a little higher than usual but is laced with a softness Yukhei is all too familiar with. "I was doing some work in the lounge."

"I wanted to find you b-but I got tangled and—"

"Hey, it's alright. I'm right here." Mark shushes him gently, making Yukhei aware of the fact that's he's still crying and trembling quite terribly. "Let's get back in bed, okay?"

"Okay. Okay yeah." Yukhei nods quickly, holding onto the blanket tighter and letting Mark help him to his feet. "You're gonna stay right?"

The request is blurted from his lips without a second thought. He feels so small as he stands wrapped up in the duvet, shaking and crying like a child. He worries he'll be brushed off, put back to bed and abandoned so Mark can finish whatever has kept him up so late, and the thought is enough to make him stifle a sob.

Mark goes to speak, but Yukhei cuts him off out of fear of rejection.

"Please." He begs, watching the way Mark shakes his head in what seems like disbelief.

"Why wouldn't I stay with you Yuk?" He asks, reaching out to pull one of Yukhei's hands from the blanket so he can hold it.

"I—your work, I don't know I just—it must be important, right?"

"Nothing is more important than you."

Yukhei swallows hard and shuts his mouth, blinking quickly as Mark pulls him back to the bed without another word. Yukhei curls himself up against the wall and watches Mark as he slips his hoodie off, leaving him in just a tank top and sweatpants. He crawls into the bed and gently pries the duvet out of Yukhei's whitened fist so he can drape it over the bed properly.

"Lay down Yuk." He instructs softly, to which the boy obliges. "You're safe, alright?"

Yukhei nods, finally beginning to believe it. His head hits the pillow and he snuggles closer to Mark, sliding his arms around his torso to cling to him. With his head buried in his chest, he feels a little warmer.

"What was it about? The dream..." Mark asks in a whisper, combing his fingers through Yukhei's hair.

Yukhei speaks honestly. "I don't know. I never know. They just happen."

"For how long?"

"On and off for what feels like forever. They're not usually that bad. I don't normally...do that."

Mark sighs and ever so lightly presses his lips against the top of his head before asking, "Have you had them here before? With me? And I just haven't noticed?"

Yukhei nods. They haven't been in their new apartment for very long—a month tops—but the strange new surroundings seemed to trouble his brain at night. He's had quite a few, in fact, but was always embarrassed to tell the boy or bother him when it was late. Mark has the same issue as Yukhei when it comes to sleep, unable to stop himself once he's started working on something. Projects for school kept him up all hours of the night and Yukhei never wanted to interrupt his flow.

"What made this time so different?" Mark wonders aloud as if reading Yukhei's mind.

"I was really...it was bad this time. I didn't know what to do and I couldn't think and you...you just make everything better. You always make me feel okay."

He can hear Mark giggle lightly, and envisions the silly grin on his face as he says, "Oh. Really?"

It makes Yukhei crack a smile as well, and for a moment he forgets what had him so upset. He forgets the harsh ocean waves that swallowed him whole and filled his lungs with fire. He forgets the fear that pumped through his veins in the place of blood. He forgets for a moment that he was scared because with Mark's fingers carding through his hair and their legs tangled beneath cool sheets, Yukhei truly feels safe. Like nothing can ever hurt him when Mark is around.

"Really." He whispers back, pressing a feather-light kiss to his collarbone as reality sinks in again and his body finally caves into exhaustion.

"So am I like, a superhero?" Mark asks, making Yukhei let out a tired giggle. 

"Yeah. I guess so." He mumbles, eyes falling shut as Mark smiles into his hair and continues talking.

"What kind of hero are we talking? Like Captain America? Or just plain old Superman?" 

Yukhei can't help the smile that grows on his face as he listens to the boy ramble, his heartbeat falling into a steady rhythm that matches his. 

"Just go to sleep, loser." 

"Oh! Oh, what about Spiderman?"

**Author's Note:**

> this is completely self-indulgent and not proofread so apologies for .... the entire thing lmao. also used it to campaign my belief that mark smells like citrus :P


End file.
